lake forest shores

Email Etiquettes

May 5, 2018

Unless you're living off the grid and completely oblivious to technology and the ways of modern communication, you'll know that emails are still ranked high as the preferred way for businesses to communicate. Of course, I'm not here to educate you on email etiquettes, but to bring awareness to concerns regarding our own property management company, Associa PCM. Please do not consider this a review of Associa PCM, but findings based on personal experience and those shared by others.


If you were to think of one very important aspect that is essential in any business that makes it standout from the rest, what would it be? For me, I think customer service ranks high, as it helps build client trust and it reflects heavily on the entire business. So what is considered an acceptable response time to emails? Is there a rule to business email response time?

Well, you don't have to be a genius to realize that "the sooner the better" is the right answer, but usually within 24-48 hours. So why is it email responses from Associa PCM take months and usually after several attempts have been made to contact the property manager? Honestly folks, you can't make this up. Read the Associa PCM reviews on Yelp. Please notice the majority of complaints have a common denominator, and there are a lot! How does a corporation, location specific, manage to get under 2 stars, yet does nothing about improving its image?

One of the reasons this website was created is due to the lack of responsiveness from Associa PCM (Professional Community Management). I wasn't even able to get the names of our "elected" board members without sending numerous requests, but that's with every inquiry, concern, reporting, etc. It's understandable the board members do not want their contact information made public, but if you have a property management company that consistently fails to respond, then what?

The answer might be TOWNSQ, but when will it be available? Since January you've seen the announcements on your monthly bill, yet nothing. By visiting the website, you can see it would be an important resource to the residents of Lake Forest Shores. The ability to get involved within the community, get updates on the latest events (the board meeting postings by the pool have not been updated in months, not since 2017) and perhaps, direct communication with the board members.

A lot of changes took place at Lake Forest Shores in 2017-2018 for the better, but Associa PCM is still a work in progress. You don't have to look far to see what others have been talking about. The Lake Forest Beach & Tennis Clubhouse dropped Associa PCM a long time ago, and so did others in the Orange County surrounding areas.

Below are several Yelp reviews regarding Associa PCM (Professional Community Management):

Review by Pineapple P. in Long Beach (06/23/2021)

I recently bought a place in an association that uses this company as their management. In 2 months I have left 5 messages, and NONE have been returned or responded to. That's super disappointing; especially when the information wasn't something I had access to myself. When the realtor had messaged the assigned representative, Ashley Coleman, she never responded to their messages.

Truthfully, I almost didn't buy in the building because of this. And now I am further discouraged after seeing all the poor reviews on here. The first impression is not favorable. If anything changes, I will update.

Review by Paula S. in Yorba Linda (03/29/2021)

This is a totally unresponsive management company. They have not returned any phone calls regarding a property issue. When calling one is directed to voicemail. It's rather like a form of thievery to accept the monthly fees and not do the work. The response to complaints seen in this forum is standardized and dismissive. If you can avoid them, do it.

Review by Karen C. in Laguna Niguel (09/20/2020)

PCM took an ACH HOA payment from my bank, and they failed to credit my HOA account and refused to return the money. This is a pattern with this company -- mismanagement, failure to respond and shuffle a different manager to your location every 6 months.

Review by Laura D. in Placentia (09/23/2019)

This is legitimately the WORST property management company in Orange County. Every time I reach out about something, on average a few times a year, I get no reply until after I have sent no less than 3 emails and left no less than 2 voicemails. Our HOA dues were raised by $35 a month and we get zero communication and zero customer service. It's insane. I am looking forward to attending the next board meeting to submit a petition to replace Associa PCM with a new property management company.

Review by Karen T. in Laguna Hills (09/04/2019)

Beware! Fees charged erroneously are impossible to get refunded. Lived in the Woodwinds community. Fee was assessed several month ago and was told it would be removed from my account. Later sold home and erroneous fee was paid through escrow. Now no one will even return calls or emails regarding refunding the fee.

Poor service and inconsiderate treatment from Associa who appears to have merged or taken over PCM communities.

Review by Gracie B. in Irvine (08/01/2019)

Wish I could give this place a zero star. One star is being too nice. This place shouldn't be using the word "professional" in the name. Very unresponsive and lack professionalism all around. Not sure why an online app exists when it takes literally forever to hear back and when you do hear back, the answer is often times unacceptable. Also, why do they have any contact info at all?! No one ever responds!

Review by Samad G. in Irvine (12/17/2018)

By far, they are one of the worst HOA on the planet. I have called them, request service and maintenance which is damaging my personal property, and no action as of today. I will request it one more time and if no action, then Superior Court of Orange County will be the next step.

Review by Mauricio J. in Lake Forest (10/10/2018)

We have been overcharged and have not received a refund for over 4 months. The company lied to us about sending us a check. They also failed to send proof of payment, copy of the check, screenshot of their system nor a receipt of certified mail.

Not to mention the mismanagement, lack of professionalism, complaints about dishonesty, unfair charges and it working for the community but only for their interests and financial benefit.

Review by Razor H. in Aliso Viejo (09/29/2018)

Read article in Texas Tribune on former Texas senator Carona and his company Associa that owns PCM. Enlightening. He has the power and connections to protect business practices of getting thousands of dollars from homeowners for making a single late payment. I didn't receive quarterly invoice (I'm guessing it was misdelivered by postal service as I seem to get mail that belongs to other addresses all the time).

The next thing you know, I get a notice of late payment plus administrative fees in the hundreds of dollars. Mind you the quarterly AVCA payment is like $75. The admin fee includes payment for legal services to begin lien processing on your property (legal services company owned by same person from Texas - he's paying himself to initiate foreclosure on you - what a scam!)

Warning to anyone whose property management company is under the umbrella of Associa. I have been house hunting in the Palm Desert area & Associa takes care of many communities in the area. I told the realtor that I refuse to buy any property Associa/PCM oversees due to their predatory practices. I heard Leisure World in OC terminated their relationship with Associa PCM for that same reason.

Review by Shang T. in Irvine (07/26/2018)

The worse management company, they lack any professionalism and do not reply to any emails. I've been trying to communicate on some approval, but never hear back from them. After numerous attempts, they come back with a one-liner response.

Last week the management ask me for my contact information so they could contact me. Well, it has been 5 days and still no word. Stop with the lip service and actually do some real support.

Review by Sauce S. in Costa Mesa (06/20/2018)

Recently bought a home in Mission Viejo. I have contacted PCM 5 days in a row trying to get a few simple questions answered. My representative Kim Kaylor won't return my phone calls or emails. What a terrible first impression and per the previous reviews I shouldn't be surprised. The next step is to attened board meetings and drop PCM associa and go with a new prop managmemt company that is competent.

Review by Marie M. in Irvine (06/15/2018)

I have never experienced worse customer service. The individuals at Associa PCM are unresponsive and difficult to work with. If you need to speak with someone, the secretary/operator says the person you need to speak to is "unavailable", then you have leave a voicemail for that person and they never call you back. The people in the office are unknowledgeable and unwilling to get the needed information.

Based on the similar reviews here, changes need to be made.

Review by Cher S. in Mission Viejo (06/06/2018)

John Marquez and the rest of this whole company are completely useless. I don't have enough time or energy to list all the ways they have completely screwed me over as a homeowner (especially one who has NEVER paid my bill late in the 10 years I've owned my home). They are rude and completely incompetent. The worst company I've ever dealt with.

Review by M.J. in Yorba Linda (03/06/2018)

If I could give them a zero (0), I would. In all my years of having an HOA, I have not come across one that cared as little as this one does. Serious complaints by those in my development have been ignored by Associa PCM and no responses are received from sending emails and calls. Their online payment system is a disaster. Stay away from this HOA if you can.

Review by Matt K. in Irvine (12/09/2017)

Once again I'm faced with an unresponsive association. A large bush fell in front of the common walkway to our home. It's been weeks with no updates after I was told it would be taken care of. I've requested updates from Associa multiple times without any response.

My neighbors and I are about to start uploading pictures of how bad this looks. The best/worst part is that people come here each week to trim the bushes but ignore the fact that there is a massive bush on its side.

It seems like the management is either completely overwhelmed with issues or out playing golf everyday.

One would think a property management company in Orange County of all places, would actually care about what people see when they walk by.

Review by Khoi N. in Irvine (11/01/2017)

LISTEN UP FOLKS. All the 1 stars or "negative stars" that could be given is in fact true! This management company is incredibly irresponsible and unresponsive to addressing issues. I honestly believe they come in to get a paycheck and not care about those who they're suppose to serve. This culture is not surprising since their senior management does nothing to change.

Thankfully, I am moving to a new community that will not be using Associa PCM. I cannot say enough that if you plan on moving into a housing community, find out if Associa PCM is the property management company and fight to remove them. I'm truly disgusted with PCM!!!

Review by Hung-Bin C. in Ladera Ranch (09/27/2017)

I wish it has negative 10 Stars in Yelp.

The management of Associa PCM has several remarkable issues:

Associa PCM Community Managers (at least for our community manager) has poor knowledge about the reserve data analysis report, budget report and audit reports. These three reports are highly related to the fund management in our community and should be matched to each other. However, Associa PCM made remarkable mistakes on these reports and over-charged our monthly HOA fee.

If your community hires Associa PCM and your concerned about your HOA fees, it's better to hire professionals to audit all reports carefully.

The response from our community manager to our concerns is slow.

Associa PCM does not allow the Board members or committees to discuss upcoming projects. Even after the meeting, they refuse to confirm what they approved during the meeting.

We attended the whole meeting (general and administrative sessions). We did not know what they had approved during the meeting. 20 days after the meeting, the meeting minutes are still not uploaded. The efficiency of Associa PCM is bad and management is not transparent.

Review by Yu F. in Irvine (09/25/2017)

I wish I could have left a negative 5 stars. Currently, I live at Three Vines Ct. in Ladera Ranch. Associa PCM has managed our community since we've lived here. Our community manager is Rita Tinoco. Rita is totally lack of passion and profession in her job. One of our neighbors helped us find out her remarkable mistakes in the budget report, but she always tried to clear her responsibilities on everything. I even doubt if we really need her as our community manager. How difficult and unprofessional person she is! By the way, as a person who should draft the budget report for our community, she couldn't even understand how to read reserve data analyst report (and to review or to examine it). Besides, she's very difficult to communicate with. She hardly responds to our mails or phone calls, and sometimes provides misleading information. If Rita Tinoco has any professional performance, I will say that she lies well. If your community is going to hire a new HOA company, I would suggest not to consider Associa PCM.

I do hope Associa or PCM having a enough high standard to hire people working there, and hope we can have a better and more professional manager to help us maintain our home.

Review by Valerie K. in Aliso Viejo (09/12/2017)

This management company is neglectful. If you are considering purchasing a condo in one of their communities, think again. Associa PCM mismanages HOA dues and ignores community rules & regulations.

Review by Lisa V. in Mission Viejo (07/20/2017)

TERRIBLE!!!!! YES, I'M WRITING IN CAPS BECAUSE OF HOW ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED I AM WITH TRYING TO REACH ANYONE AT ASSOCIA / PCM. As you can see with the other reviews, they are just horrible at communication - in particular, the association manager VERONICA HUERTA with The Ridge at Mission Viejo, CA. I have been trying to get responses to emails, phone calls, voice messages for 5 MONTHS!!! Not one single response! I hope because of this review, something can be done about this lack of communication. This is HORRIBLE customer service. As new homeowners to this community, I dread the years ahead of having to deal with this non-existent association manager.

Review by Erica P. in Aliso Viejo (07/17/2017)

Let me start out by saying I have never written a Yelp review in my life, therefore you know how I must feel. We had a slab leak at our house and reported it to Trisha on May 19th. After numerous emails and voicemail, she finally responded that she was going to look at it on June 9th. After that, I asked 3 times when they were going to send a plumber out. On June 19th a plumber arrived. One month after my initial report! A dry out company came the next day and discovered mold. Now they are stating that the mold is my responsibility. There would not be mold if they would have come out sooner. They took responsibility of the leak that caused the mold, but not the mold? How does that make sense? Meanwhile my family has been living in a hazardous environment. Also, they have been giving the company that fixes the mold the run around. They have yet to tell them if they are doing the work or not, making them send reports and pictures, etc. I have never seen such horrible customer service. I have given them multiple chances to make this right and gotten nowhere.